Improvement in gas apparatus for railroads



\ `laexflB-Nimn JULY 19, 1870.

yf W. POSTER, J'R. @L G. P. GrA-NSTBR. u GAS APPARATUSFOR RAILROADS., am.

wrt.'Lizin"Festina,` .nu

To all whom it may concern:

. tion.

Y @elett Quilting.

or NEW-YORK, N. Y., AND encuen r. saneren, or

READING, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 105,561, dated July 19, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN- G'AS APPARATUS FOR RAILROADS, &C

The Schedule referred to in. these Letters Patent and making partof the same.

` Be it known that we, WILLIAM FOSTER, J r.,.ot` the city and county of New York, in, the State of' New York, and GEORGE P. .GANs'rnrg of Reading, in the `county of' Berks, in the State of Pennsylvania, have mventcdcertain newI and useful Improvements in Gas ltpparatus land we dohereby declare that the follow-l ingisa full and exact description thereof'.

We are and have been for several years engaged in the manufacture of portable gas apparat-us. Our patf ent datedDecember 8, 1868,(l'escribes a very efficient .and successful apparatus adapted for use on railroad cars, and which will give a steady and vreliable iight for along period,indepemlent of the varying inclinations and ioltingsof the car. It also provides for holding-,the gasoline in the interstices between the fibers of cotton wicking, or analogous materal, whereby its flowing out and vaponzation is regulated,and `also the evils due-to a fracture of the apparatus in case of' a collision or other accident, are greatly lessened. Our present improvement is based on that therein described. W'e have made material improvements.

, Railroad ears which are eniployed on long routes,

and which are required to be onthe road through successive di ys and nights; as for instance, those on the Pacific railroad from Omahato the Pacific coast, may be lighted throughout the whole journey by our apparatus, without requiring refilling or any. attention except winding up the blowing mechanism and adjustl ing the feed when required for use, each day, and an occasional discharge ot' the denser and unevaporated .portion ofthe gasoline, which we deuom inate the drip.

Our invention provides convenient means f'or efi'ectl ing this latter' operatin while in full motion, so that no increase of labor is involved during the brief stoppages, and no offensive smells .at or in the vicinity of the stopping places.

We make smaller sizes of the same apparatus for shorter routes. In our previous apparatus the means forcontrolling the flow ofgasoline into the evaporating-chambers were not fully reliable and capable of' exactly measuring the quantity, and (what wasnot the least important)l thespilling of anymaterial in either emptying the' drip or supplying fresh gasoline to the apparatus, washable to soil the floor, and cause a temporary or permanent offensive condition in the car. .All these are remedied by our present invenl W'c `will first proceed to describe what we consider the best means of carrying out our invention, and will l afterward designate the points which we believe to be new therein.

The aceompan ying drawing .forms a part of .this specification. 't

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through a car provided with our invention. j

Figure 2 is a transverse section of'the same. The remaining figures indicate detailed parts of'the apparatus on a larger scale.

Figure 3 represents the vessel in which the blowing is effected, and in which 'the spring and other mechanism is contained for treasnring and giving out the power;

Figure 4 is a plan View of the same.; and

Figure 5 is a side elevation of' the reservoir and I evaporatiiig-vessel.

Figure 6' shows the in dex fi. and graduating-scale l".

vessel and its mechanism are within-the car, the e\-'aporatingrcssel and reservoir are out-side the ca'r. But certain important movements or adjustments, with regard to the latter, may be controlled from within the car, by properly manipulating by the of rods passing up through the floor.

VSimilar letters of reference indica-te like parts in all the figures.

In figs. 1 and 2, the general outlines of a passem ger-car will be readilyirecognized. The floor is representedvas thicker' than ordinarily constructed, in order to give increased elearness to the figures. Nine burners, with their accompanying lglass shades, of' the ordinary approved and tasteful character, are represented, butthe number of lights may be increased or diminished at will. l

The blowing apparatus is marked, as in our previouspatent-,BgC D.

The reservoir, eraporating-chambers, and space be low thelat-ter to Ijeceiveand accumulate the unevap- F, G, H, and I.

lheentire blowing apparatus B C D is within the car, and may be locked'in a small closet iii one corner. lhe air steadily blown from this apparatus by the contained blowers or bellows, not represented, flows through a suitable' pipe, ,down'to orwithin the fioor, then ilows along horizontally'until it is near the cenlhe blowing, the evaporating, an'l the distribution of" the gas, as also all the points not here particularly described, may be as in our former patent referred to.

It will b e seen in Figure 8 that, while the 'blowing-4 aid orated drip, are marked, as in our previousfpatent, E,

ter of the length of the car, then turns downward,

the risk of diffusing 'any had smell inthe carunder shaft b'.

A suitable coiled spring, of great power and com, pass, -is inelosed in thenpper portion of the blowing chamber, and is wound up by applying power to the The winding may be done once a day, or at longer cr shorter intervals, as required.

'lhe power thus treasured operates a set of bellows of an ordinary or any suitable pattern, and the air thus impelled is driven into the lowcrmost of a series of cvaporati11g-chambers.

'lhese'ehambersare filled with properly-preparcd sponge, more or less saturated with gasoline, by a gradual flow of the gasoline from a reservoir above into the snccessiv'e chambers below. The uppermost evapomtiiig-chamber being very wet with fresh gasoline, completes the saturation ot' the air, and the air,

thus saturated, generally denominated gas, is led off to the burners.

'One of our chief improvements consists, as before stated, in the arrangement of -th'e parts of the appar'atus, whereby the portion liable to be in any manner offensive is outside of the car.-

Te will now describe the others.

\Ve fill the reservoir through a short pipe, e, which may, if preferred, be bent as represented in our .previous patent. is completed.

' The supplying of a large quantity of gasoline must necessarily displace a corresponding bulk of air or gas We provide. for this by opening an air-'eock, 1t, in the vicinity ot' the feed-pipe e. So soon as the filling is completed, the air-cock R is again closed.

'lo discharge the `drip at intervals, we -turn a cock, p', by means of a rod, p, which extends up through the loor of the ear. By this means the discharge may be. made while running, and, after holdingr it open a brief interval,4 it is again closed,l andl allowed tol stand closed for along period, say twenty-four hours, when it should be opened again foralittle time.

XVe'control the flow ofthe' gasoline ti'om Athe reservoir into the eva-paratilig-chamber by a very accurately-constrnctcd cock, il, operated by a rod, i", having an index, i, working 'on' a graduated scale, i', placed -in al'ceess inthe licor of the car.

' 'lhe rod "i2 reaches up nearly through the floor of the car.

The index i turns in a recess sunk in the floor. It may bel covered by a brass plate or other suitable cover, t'o protect itfrom injury or curious inspection,

but it is important that the covering be easily removed to allow the attendantto adjust the vcock at pleasure. lhc index` i. standing at any particular ponton the scale 6*, experience soon teaches the operator at what point to keep it in every part of the journey to insure a uniform light. When the apparatus has been fi'csh lilled the cock should be nearly It isscenrelyvstopped when the filling' vanized iron, and the cocks and connections of brass,

and to hold the vaporating-vessel and reservoir up to the floor-timbers of the car, by providing a stout flange at its upper edge, which is first held up temporarily against the floor-timbers by clamps or wood-screws, and is afterward very strongly secured by bolting around the entire structure a rectangular framing of wood, which takes under the flange, and confines the whole so strongly as to resistany ordinary violence.

1. In combination with a railroad ear, a gas apparatus, having the cvaporating-chamber audits connections outside the vehicle, substantially as specified.

2. 'l he feed-cock il, with its rod i2 extending through to the interior of the car, and index andseale i combined and arranged as represented relatively to a gas apparatus outside of the ear, asspeeitied.

3. In combination with a gas apparatus outside o f a railroad car, the drip-cock p', operated bythe rod p, extending through to the interior of the car, as and` furthe purposes herein se't forth.

` 4. A blower, operated by a spring, in connection with a gas apparatus, soicoust-ru'eted that itcan be placed in any convenient place in a car, boat, or other l carriage, aml so arranged that it can be wound when the vehicle is in. motion, and the lights are burning,

as shown, and for thc purpose set fort-h.

5. The combination of the following elements: a railroad ear or analogous moving structure adapted to carry passengers; a blowing apparatus within the gstrueturc; an evaporating apparatus outside; a provision for discharging the drip or unevaporated portion by operating ou the inside of the structure; provision for regulating the amount admitted to the evapomting-chambers, ami 'exactly gauging the aperture from the interior of the strnetnrc; aml provisions for tillingand for ilischargiugthe air or gas during the lilling operation, all combined and arranged for joint operation, as herein specified.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set om names in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WM. FOSTER, .l-n. GEO. I. GANSTEP.' Witnesses z A. B. Huw, JAMES S. GRINNELL. 

